


we've got so much time left (so much time left to do everything)

by orphan_account



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Awkward Conversations, Cat and Max Brotp, Conversations, Domestic, Domestic Alex Danvers, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Maxwell Lord, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Ice Cream, Krypton, Kryptonese, Kryptonian, Lord Tech, Lord Technologies, Max is actually Carter's dad but no-one but Cat and Max know, Penthouse, Red Kryptonite, Space Dad, Space Dad Hank, Space Dad J'onn J'onzz, Space Granddad, Space Granddad Hank, Space Granddad J'onn J'onzz, Texting, The Author Regrets Nothing, The DEO, Wine, looking after a toddler, low-key shipper!Lucy, shipper!Lucy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-02 01:30:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6544975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kara is de-aged, it's up to Max and Alex to look after her, going so far as to fake a relationship to the media to keep her safe. But when the charade starts to become real, Max and Alex go down a road they can't come back from without consequences. </p><p>//</p><p>Or that time that Max and Alex have to baby-sit a baby Kara together and fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> People question whether Max already knew her identity in this - I'm making it here, so that he knew that Alex was her sister, but not that she was Kara Danvers. So he didn't know her civilian identity, JUST her relation to Alex.

His plan had been to subdue Supergirl if she ever came to his office through his window again – the Red Kryptonite had been manufactured to have random results. After a while, Supergirl broke into his office again. And again. And again. And again. And again. They played around for months. Each time the result was different, and eventually it became a game for them. Once exposed, it took time for the effect to be visible, so Supergirl almost always stayed near Lord Tech when she was doing her rounds of National City afterwards – and a good thing too.

He always had the antidote on hand if it ever did something as bad as the first time, so it was relatively safe, and because she did stay near, the one time she’d needed an antidote while flying – or rather, falling, because it rendered her powerless over a thousand feet up – he’d used a crossbow to get an anti-RK round, as they called it, into her system, saving her life. Of course, there was the other time, too, that it caused anything she wore to burn up due to the high heat of her skin one time – he’d waited until she’d embarrassed herself by flying nude before shooting her up with anti-RK.

As he said, it became a game for them. Supergirl had a _lot_ of fun once when she was able to control her pheromone output. He’d never be able to erase all the gifs of him on the internet proclaiming that he was the King of ice-cream and that Kara Danvers was the Princess.

But then came the day that Supergirl disappeared while flying in the direction of his company, while Max was on vacation in Hawaii. As soon as he heard, he caught a flight back to National City and practically ran to his office – who knew what the Red K had done to her? She could be paralysed, or poisoned, or worse – dead.

What he didn’t expect was to find a little girl eating the last apple in his fruit bowl, sitting on his desk in his office, wearing a red blanket that Max was pretty sure was Supergirl’s cape.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that,” he stated, before turning to his personal assistant, already making plans in his mind. “Try getting in contact with Agent Danvers – tell her I need her to come here immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” his assistant nodded before leaving him in his office. Max waved off the two guards, who left and shut the door behind them before Max approached his desk.

“Supergirl? Are you in there?” He paused as the girl looked up, blinking at him before smiling widely, arms rising. “I’ll take that as a no,” he continued lightly, before picking her up, making sure the cape came with her. “Can you tell me your name, kiddo?” She didn’t answer, only reaching up to grab his hair. He winced, but the grabbing helped him realise that she wasn’t super-strong – “Thank god” – and a quick press of his finger to her arm showed a human-like reaction to the change in pressure, skin turning red before going back to it’s cream pale. “Not invulnerable then,” he muttered, grimacing, “I bet you’re a clumsy kid. You’re going to be covered in bruises before you get your powers back.”

Reaching up, he finally removed her fingers from his head, having to do it a few time before she got the message.

“Can you even speak?” He questioned, before she opened her mouth – only to speak in what he could only assume was Kryptonian, as it wasn’t the usual baby babble he’d heard before on television. She continued to speak, repeating something, before she kept repeating one word.

“ _Diom, Diom, Diom, Diom-_ ”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, kiddo,” he admitted, interrupting her, “English, can’t you speak _English?_ Is it so hard to ask that you remember how?” He huffed, before the doors to his office opened again, admitting his assistant, who held out a phone.

“Agent Danvers, Mr Lord.”

Max nodded, taking it, “Thank-you.” Putting the phone to his ears, he moved his head so the squirming girl on his hip couldn’t reach up and take it, speaking into the receiver. “Alex, how are you?”

“ _Good, but I’ve got bigger problems right now, so speak up already._ ”

Max smiled. “A bigger problem than a de-aged superhero without her powers or the ability to speak English?”

“ _Supergirl’s with you?_ ” She immediately questioned, “ _Where are you?_ ”

“I’ll be going home, where I’ll be attempting, I believe, to look after an alien until I figure out a way to give her the anti-Red Kryptonite without it ripping through her less than invulnerable skin. Want to join me?” He switched his hold on the phone, putting it between his head and his shoulder, using his now-free arm to change his grip on the baby Supergirl, who was trying for the phone and his hair too. Through all the silent chaos, he could smell apple on her fingers, and wondered why his fruit bowl had been full while he was on holiday – honestly, it was a bit dumb considering he wasn’t even there.

“ _Where do you live?_ ”

“I’m sure you have it on record, but if you’re asking _which_ house I’m going to? The townhouse. If this takes too long, there’s at least a Walmart nearby.”

“ _I’ll meet you there._ ” Then she hung up. Max reached up to catch the phone as it went to fall, holding it out to his assistant as he frowned lightly.

“She hung up on me, but at least I know where she’ll be going – get my chauffeur to go round to my penthouse and pick up Agent Danvers when she arrives. I’ll be going to the penthouse on the shoreline.” He ordered, before once again readjusting his grip on Supergirl, tiredly taking her hands away from his hair. “And on that note, have my chauffeur use the black windowed car, with the mini-EMP for trackers. And obviously call another one for me and Supergirl. And get some clothes delivered to my penthouse.”

“Yes, sir.” His assistant got on the phone immediately, but he turned his attention away from her, trying to calm the girl in his arms.

“Hey, stop moving about,” he swung her over his shoulder in an attempt for her to stay still, if only out of self-preservation – but all she did was giggle. Max rolled his eyes, before seeing something behind his desk. A quick check found him staring at Supergirl’s super-suit. Picking it up, he balanced the de-aged heroine while bundling it up, placing it in an empty desk drawer. Once done, Max made his way out of his office, continually adjusting his grip on the active child, who was seemingly a bundle of energy, as he made his way out of the facility. Once at the exit, he saw a car waiting for him, the chauffeur opening the door.

“There’s a car-seat inside for her, sir,” the woman stated, prompting Max to sigh before nodding, getting into the Mercedes and quickly spotting it.

“Okay, let’s get you in,” he placed her in the seat, holding her in with one hand as he tried to find the straps. “There, and there, and…” he frowned, trying to find the second arm strap. “Where- there.” He found it, and to his annoyance the blonde put up quite a fight until he growled out, “Stay still you little Kryptonian menace!” At that, she stopped, blinking innocently at him as he put her arms through the loops and buckled her in, tightening them before sitting down himself, the car moving a few seconds afterward. The girl continued to watch him, and he pursed his lips before taking out his cell phone, texting his assistant for the number she’d used to get through to Alex.

After his assistant replied, he immediately used it, texting: **_Alex, is this you or your job, because I seriously need a name or something for the miniature_**. He barely had to wait ten seconds before a reply came in the form of a new number. Assuming it was from her job, he texted the same to what he assumed was her personal number. He waited a full minute for a reply.

**_You won’t have custody of her for long, so you don’t need a name._ **

Max raised an eyebrow at the terminology. **_Custody? You want to take her away?_**

 ** _She’s a minor right now, and doesn’t speak English. She can’t give consent in a language you’d understand._** Max’s head tipped slightly, picking up on what she wasn’t saying.

 ** _And YOU can speak what I assume is Kryptonian?_** He thought back to the security camera he’d put on her bag – they’d been sisters, and while he never did actually find out who her sister was, if they’d grown up together, it would make sense that she knew how to speak at least a little of her sister’s language.

Her reply came a little while later. **_That is none of your business, but if you have to know, then yes, I can speak Kryptonese. Fluently. But in any case, you don’t get to look after her. There’s protocol for this._**

Max typed back his reply quickly. **_But she isn’t a DEO Agent. She’s a vigilante, a civilian even. You’d have to inform her legal guardians and I don’t think either of us wants her potentially leaving the city._** She didn’t text back before Supergirl caught his attention, leaning forward to look at him.

“ _Diom. Mo damoz Diom._ ”

Max looked up. “What do you want now? And what does- what does _dee-om_ mean?” She clapped, smiling after he finished speaking, white teeth visible.

“ _Diom!_ ”

His phone pinged, and he looked down to see what Alex had to say, only to find it was his primary chauffeur texting him instead. **_Agent Danvers is on her way to the penthouse, boss. She didn’t take very lightly to being ‘kidnapped’._** Max replied quickly, telling him not to worry, before Alex texted him again.

**_Your chauffeur is too good for you. Who did you steal him from? Bruce Wayne?_ **

Max smiled. **_Lex Luthor, actually. He was a bit miffed._**

**_Is ‘miffed’ an understatement?_ **

**_Yes._** Max glanced at Supergirl again, who was grabbing at her bare feet, her red cape shifting. Max leant over, fixing it as much as he could, seeing as she was sitting on it.

Alex’s next text changed the subject back to before. **_I was serious by the way. Supergirl won’t be staying with you._**

Max pressed his lips together, feeling aggravated. **_It’s not up to discussion Alex. I need to figure out how to reverse the effects without quite literally shooting her. The anti-RK needs to be administered all at once. That means no syringes. The anti-RK bullets hit her and release the anti-RK when already inside her._**

 ** _I know. She brought a few casings back once._** There was a pause, before she sent a second text. **_What do you propose then? I can’t leave her there alone with you._**

Max breathed a slight sigh of relief, rubbing his forehead. “Nearly there, sir,” said the chauffeur through the intercom. Max sent her a quick text. **_We can finish this conversation at my penthouse. Are you there yet?_**

**_No._ **

**_Well I am._** They pulled up to the curb. **_See you soon_**. Unbuckling, Max leant over to the car-seat, unplugging the superhero and taking her out from her car-seat, shuffling out of the door, making sure she didn’t bang her head – thankfully, she had quietened and wasn’t calling out ‘dee-om’ anymore. Looking up the road, he saw his car heading towards them and stepped further onto the pavement, so the chauffeur could shut the door. Watching as they approached, Max felt slightly nervous, holding Supergirl to him tighter.

“Do you remember Alex at all, Supergirl? She was your sister, once upon a time,” he muttered to her as the car pulled up, the door opened a few seconds later. Alex got out, wearing a blue plaid shirt and grey jeans, cell phone tucked into her left pocket. It was the most casual set of clothing he’d ever seen her in, and somehow, it made him like her even more. “Alex, how are you this fine evening?”

Their eyes met for a moment, before her gaze switched to Supergirl. For a second, she stared, then she was taking her in, stepping closer and closer, until they were barely a metre apart.

“I’ve never seen her this young,” she murmured, “She was thirteen when her pod came down.” Alex glanced at him. “How did you find her?”

“When I heard that Supergirl had gone missing while flying around my building, I came home from my vacation to find her sitting on my desk eating an apple someone had left lying around. Do you know she has teeth?” He shifted her further up his hip as she leant over slightly, dropping. Alex brought a hand up, brushing her cheek, causing the girl to smile again and chirp.

“ _Miom!_ ” Immediately Alex’s eyes went wide, snatching her hand back as if she had been burned. Max’s eyebrows drew together.

“She wasn’t saying that in her car.”

Alex glanced at him, “What was she saying?”

“Uh, dee-om? And something else, uh…ma, dah-moz, dee-om. Yeah, that.” Alex’s face melted into softness, eyes meeting the mini superhero’s.

“Oh, sweetheart…” Alex glanced at Max, “ _Diom_ – it means father. _Ma damoz Diom_ means, ‘I want my father’. Ka- Supergirl, she said they didn’t really have more than one term for mom and dad, so they’re all just the same, no matter how many versions there are in English.”

“And _Miom_ is ‘mother’, I’m assuming,” Max raised an eyebrow, before looking at the toddler awkwardly, “So she…thought you were her mother?”

Alex shifted on two feet, uncomfortable, “Maybe. I don’t know. We sort of have the same hair-colour, but Alura’s was longer, and curlier. She probably doesn’t know the difference. She didn’t know a lot of people personally – on Krypton, you don’t get to know other Kryptonians outside your family until you’re five, when they do exams.”

“Exams?”

Alex shook her head, looking around, eyeing the two chauffeurs. “Kryptonian children are geniuses. I won’t say any more – not here. Can we go upstairs?”

“Sure,” Max shrugged, before walking over to the door to his penthouse’s building, putting in the passcode to get in, leading Alex inside. Once in, they got into an elevator and Max used a key, which had the elevator going up to his floor automatically. “So do I get a name for Superbaby?” He asked as they approached his door.

Alex hesitated before answering, “Can we wait until we’re inside?” Max, in reply, opened his door, holding it open for her. She nodded, going inside, walking through the open plan living kitchen diner as Max shut the door, joining her.

“So?”

“Kara,” Alex spoke simply, “Kara Danvers – you’ve met her before. She’s Cat Grant’s assistant.” Max blinked in surprise.

“I think I must be on drugs, because in no universe is Cat Grant’s _assistant_ Supergirl.”

Alex glared at him, “Hey. That’s my sister you’re talking about.” Max tried to make it seem as though this was a surprise, looking to the little girl in his arms – _Kara, Cat’s mousy little assistant_ – as he covered up his knowledge.

“Really? Wow. And she called you mom – you must have a wonderful relationship.” Her glare hardened, before he sat down on one of the sofas, leaning back with Kara on his stomach, blanket settling over her front as she twisted her head around to look at Alex, his hands on her sides to keep her from falling. “But onto more important matters. Until she’s cured, I’m going to be spending a lot of time around her, and assuming you won’t be letting me alone with her, you as well. The Press will have a field day, so we might as well make an announcement, one that we can remedy on later, once Supergirl is back to flying around National City, saving the day.”

Alex frowned, “What kind of announcement?”

Max smiled sunnily, before motioning to the sofa, “Sit. Get comfortable.”

“Max…”

“No really, sit,” he motioned again, watching as she slowly sat down. Once she did, he moved, bringing himself and baby Kara over to sit beside her. “You aren’t going to like my idea.”

“What are you thinking about saying?”

Max looked at Kara, tapping her bare chest, catching her attention. Grinning at her, causing the girl to giggle in a high pitch, he glanced at Alex.

“You inspired me, by the way – you speak her language, and we can use that. She won’t be able to speak English to the Press. At the very most, she could pass as a three year old, maybe even four if you called her small. She’s more like…two and a half. Now, I also did my research on you,” he pointed at her, wagging his finger, “Four years ago, you disappeared, barely three months after finishing university. According to social media, you were quite the wild one.” Max grinned, “Now _I_ know you went to work for the DEO, but no-one else should. Meaning, that if you were seen with little Kara here with me, while I was _clearly_ spending time with her, people would jump to conclusions.”

Alex’s eyes widened before her mouth dropped open slightly, the agent speechless.

“It’s clicked, hasn’t it?” Max grinned, leaning towards her. “We’re going to pretend she’s our daughter.”


	2. Chapter 2

"There, I like it there," Max nodded, before Alex poked her head in.

"She won't like it. She's always hated having her bed at the window, or across from it. I don't expect her to be any different." She motioned to the wall across from the one the door sat in, to the right of the window, rather than right beside the door. "That one, in the middle." The people moving the crib around looked to Max, who glanced at Alex. She raised an eyebrow.

"Sir? No disrespect," one of the movers started, "but my ex-wife knows my son better than I do, 'cause she raised him. You might want to do what Agent Danvers says when it's about Miss Kara, so you can get into the habit of taking her advice. She's supposed to be her mom in front of everyone else, yeah? She'd know more, be…right." Alex looked away at the man's words, but Max only nodded.

"Yes. You'd better do what she says then. Anything else to say, Alex?" Alex shook her head, before leaving. Max stayed for a few more minutes, directing where more things should go before going after her. It didn't take long – she was only in the living room. Kara was in her arms, head snuggled into her shoulder. It had only been a couple of hours since their arrival, and since Max had told Alex the plan, things had moved forwards.

For one, clothes had arrived, and now Kara was in a matching set of elephant pyjamas. A short while after, Max had arranged for his second spare office in the penthouse – he had three – to be remodelled into a room suitable for someone Kara's apparent age. The desk, chair, computer and few nick-knacks he had lying around had been taken out, and now a crib, chest of drawers and toys had been placed around the room, with a plastic sheet of glow-in-the-dark constellations stuck to the ceiling, with animal stickers on the walls. While Max directed the movers and decorators though, Alex had looked after Kara, playing with her and watching over her until she was tired out.

"Alex?" Max walked over to her, the agent ignoring him as she stroked Kara's head. "Alex, would you like to stay in the guest bedroom tonight, or will you be going to wherever home is for you?"

"I'll stay, if that's okay," she replied quietly. "Sorry I'm like this."

"No, it's fine," Max shook his head, sticking his hands in the pockets of his slacks. Both his tie and jacket had been long since discarded. "It's going to be quite the charade."

"Yeah…it's strange, ever since she was dropped off at our house, I was told to look after her, help her, make sure she was okay. I was made to protect her. It was my job." She chuckled, smiling slightly, "I never expected anything like this to happen."

"But you'll protect her."

"Yes, obviously," Alex looked up, "but for some reason, you will too. Why?"

Max looked away, "Supergirl is a powerful figure. And in recent months we've become…well I wouldn't say friendly, but things have changed since she first came out and I would actively slander her. I'll develop a way to give her the anti-Red Kryptonite, but until then she's just a kid. That means we have a duty to protect her, because she's unable to defend herself."

"She'll appreciate your help, once she's back to normal," Alex gave him a small smile, which he returned before the movers exited Kara's room.

"That's us done-"

"Shh!" Max glared, pointing at Kara, "Sleeping child, here." The man grimaced, before apologising quietly. The movers quickly left the penthouse, Max turning back to Alex as she stood, holding Kara carefully. "We should put her in her room."

"Yeah," Alex agreed. The two made their way to the room, Max turning off the main lights, noting the multiple nightlights plugged in around the room before he switched on a lamp, so they could properly see. Alex brought Kara to the crib, untucking the blankets before settling her down inside, tucking her in and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Kara." Alex straightened slowly, banging into Max a little. "Sorry-"

"It's fine," he muttered, before leaning over himself, taking a plush toy from one of the corners and putting it under the covers with the toddler, who immediately pulled it into her chest, little murmurs escaping her. "There."

"Kara never had a toy when she was with us," Alex said quietly, "but she seems to like it now."

"Maybe she never had one on Krypton," Max shrugged, before leaning back up, turning the lamp off, the two adults watching her a little bit longer before slowly leaving, both glancing back multiple times before shutting the door. "There's a set of those walkie-talkie things, if she wakes up. One's in my room."

"Do you want it in your room?"

"I can deal," Max shrugged, "and she seems old enough to sleep nights. You can get it tomorrow." Alex nodded, and they stood in front of the door for a minute awkwardly, neither of them knowing what to do. "Uh…would you like a glass of wine?"

"Please," Alex nodded, before the two went to the kitchen, Max taking a bottle of red from the bottom of his fridge and two wine-glasses from a cupboard. Popping the cork, he poured them both half glasses, Alex taking hers with a muttered thank-you.

"Do you need to go get anything from your home?"

"No, I'll be good, so long as you don't barge into my room in the middle of the night. I'll get something in the morning on my way to work." She sipped her wine, "I'm going to have to tell them what's happening. Will you be okay with looking after her?"

"Yeah," Max's lip twitched, "Look at us. It's as if we really did have a kid together." Alex gave him a light glare.

"Stop trying to get into my pants."

Max gave her a faux look of innocence. "I didn't know your mind was so dirty, Agents Danvers, I was simply saying that our charade isn't much of a charade." Alex snorted.

"We're going to be telling the press that I had a kid right after getting my doctorate, and that it was _yours_. I barely knew you _existed_ back then – you were just the creator of a lot of new shiny, mass-produced bits of tech that I never had any business looking into. I'm a _bio_ -engineer."

"We're more alike than you think," Max tipped his glass in her direction, "For instance, we both are looking after a very special little girl out of the goodness of our own hearts."

Alex rolled her eyes, laughing slightly, "Yeah, right, that's the only way we're alike-" She stopped suddenly, pausing. "Shit."

"What?" He frowned, smile dropping.

Alex shook her head, "It's just, I've been photographed before, in my tac-suit, when I have to go help Supergirl. And then as well, that stuff way back when Kara first came into contact with Red K…my face like this is probably in archives. People will know it's me. They can connect Kara to Supergirl – and by _Kara,_ I mean _both_ versions of her." Her eyes met Max's. "This won't work, Max."

"It will work," he stood straight, taking out his phone and dialling. A few seconds later, he got through to who he wanted to speak to. "It's Max Lord here. Sorry for calling so late, but I need you and yours to come to my penthouse tomorrow morning, early, with that side-project of yours."

" _Mr Lord, you mean the-"_

Max rolled his eyes, "Yes, I know, it's a strange order, but it's not for me. If it makes you feel better, this isn't an official test – you'll have free reign, at least a little bit."

" _Will Miss Allison be coming in afterwards?_ "

"Obviously, I don't want them looking like an oompa-loompa who's just had too much hair-taffee. Be here by-" he looked to Alex, who wavered, before he motioned for her to hurry up.

"Seven."

"-seven am. Have a nice evening, doctor." Max hung up, before calling a new number, which went straight to voicemail. "Allison, I know you're there, pick up already." A second later there was a click.

" _Mr Lord! Hey man, what's up? There an emergency? Need me to come visit your poor old self?"_ Came Allison's mocking voice.

"I'm not old," Max denied, "And there's no emergency, but I will need you to come to the penthouse on forty-third tomorrow morning."

" _Ooh, the penthouse – haven't been there since- oh! Have you got a girl finally?_ "

Max rolled his eyes, "Old girlfriend, with a lovely little two and a half year old to sweeten the deal."

" _Oh my god, Max, you have a kid? That's amazing,_ " she sounded sincere for once, _"Will I get to meet her?"_

"Maybe. Depends if she's awake. Anyway though, you can imagine what the press will say about it all. Problem is, kid's mom has been caught on camera by the press in some…admittedly strange places. Not bad, persay, but interesting enough that there would be some digging that neither of us needs or wants."

Allison immediately made a noise of displeasure. " _You called Bart, didn't you? Ugh, make sure he doesn't give her too much, or it'll be a nightmare. Will she need to get away quick?"_

"Probably," Max glanced at Alex, who seemed annoyed she didn't know what was going on. "Her work starts pretty early on in the day. She'll need to be away by eight, most likely." Alex nodded slightly. "Yeah, eight."

" _I'll be around for seven then, with Bart. Maybe then I'll stop him from making her look like Bellatrix Lestrange._ " Allison grumbled, before hanging up. Taking a sip of wine, Max turned his phone off, slipping it in his pocket.

"What was that about?"

"Lord Tech is a wide and varied company." Max smiled, raising his wine glass to her again, "And by eight am tomorrow, we won't have to worry about the press connecting you to Supergirl."

Alex raised her own glass, "To whatever you have planned, then. I hope you're right." They clinked glasses before drinking more wine, eyes not leaving the others.

* * *

The next morning, Alex awoke with the sun, as per usual – but unlike her usual day, where she would lie in bed until her alarm rung at quarter to seven, Alex frowned and sat up.

"Where am I…" then it all came back to her. Max calling her, finding out Kara had been de-aged, coming to Max's penthouse…agreeing to be Kara's mother, in the eye of the press. Alex's stomach flipped, before she pushed off the silk sheets, getting up and going to the door, determined to check on Kara – not even caring that she was only wearing a grey tank-top, sports bra and boy shorts. Opening the door to her room, Alex paused before turning left, to where Kara's room was located.

At seeing the open door, her heart sped faster, panic setting in as she saw the empty crib.

"Max? Where's Kara?" She called, stepping into the room, looking under the crib and in between a toy-box and the chest of drawers. " _Kara, where are you?_ " She called out in Kryptonese, turning at the sound of footsteps. Max stood in the doorway, holding a very awake and very safe-looking Kara, who waved.

" _I'm here!_ "

" _Yes you are,_ " Alex smiled, before coming forwards and leaning up to kiss her head. " _I thought you were lost._ "

" _No_ ," Kara grinned, " _I was with Mix._ "

"Max, sweetheart, _his name is Max_."

"Max," Kara repeated, "Max, Max, Mix, Mex-"

"Hey, it's a bit early for all this noise," Max himself interrupted, rubbing his eye. "Kara woke up in the night, came into my room, I think – she was beside me when I woke up." Alex swallowed, before looking back to Kara.

" _Why did you go to Max, little one?_ "

Kara's smile disappeared, " _I had a bad dream. I was in a ship, and something exploded. It made the ship go somewhere dark, where all the stars were far away._ " Alex made sure not to react as she looked to Max, features blank.

"She dreamt of her planet exploding, and going into the Phantom Zone." Max seemed to finish waking up at that.

"Oh. That's not good."

Alex shook her head slightly, looking back to Kara. " _Kara, if you have that dream again, you tell me, okay?_ "

" _Yes Mama._ " Kara said quietly, and Alex felt a sharp sting in her heart. Kara shouldn't be calling her that. Looking to Max, she motioned to her wrist.

"Do you know what the time is?"

"Sometime after six am," Max said, before looking her up and down. "Maybe you should think about getting dressed."

"Yeah," Alex looked away, before walking around him, calling back as she made her way to the guest room. "You should get Kara something to eat."

"Sure!" He called back as she entered her room again, shutting the door and locking it. Leaning back, she put a hand to her chest. Kara shouldn't be calling her Mama. That was Alura's title, or better yet, Eliza's. She wasn't Kara's mother – Kara was her _sister_ , her _Miolle_. Not Mama, not _Miom_ , or mother, or mom, or mommy, _sister_. Alex was Kara's _sister_.

She had to remember that.

Going over to the end of her bed, where she'd undressed, Alex put her plaid button up back on, and her jeans, leaving her socks and shoes before going into to her ensuite bathroom, checking her hair out and running her fingers through it before leaving both the bathroom and the bedroom, heading to the kitchen, where Max was eating Captain Crunch with Kara. Alex grimaced. _Big mistake._

"You should have given her toast."

"No bread," he replied, before spooning some into his mouth with a grimace. "UHT milk is disgusting." He leant sideways, touching the tabletop. Alex saw a screen appear, before he started up a program. "All essential foods, oven-cook meals, healthier cereal than Captain Crunch, uh…" he glanced at her. "Say what food you want."

Alex raised an eyebrow, before slipping in beside Kara, who was nearly finished. "Fruit? Bacon? Um, sandwich meat, vegetables, uh- that's all I've got. I'm more of a takeaway fan."

Max shrugged, "People buy me food and I cook it. I'm not usually the one to order the contents of my cupboards." Alex nodded, before they fell into silence. She didn't bother having anything to eat, planning to grab something with coffee on her way to work later. When Kara was finished her cereal, she wanted another bowl, and after a glance at Alex, Max served her another.

"She'll need three or four of those. Add a literal tonne of snacks to your grocery list."

When it was nearing seven o'clock, the intercom buzzed, and Max went to answer it – a few minutes later, half a dozen men and women in suits and lab-coats came up alongside a rather crazy-looking woman with purple, artfully-cut hair.

"This is Allison," Max introduced. Alex gave a cautious smile, before holding out a hand. Allison bypassed the hand, kissing her on the cheek.

"Hey – and is this the munchkin?" Allison smiled widely at Kara, who stared at her, fascinated. Alex looked around at the people setting up shop in Max's apartment, remembering what Kara had told her about socialisation on Krypton. Licking her lips, she spoke to Kara in Kryptonese.

" _Kara, these people are friends of Max. They aren't of the House of El, or any other House. They're Max's subordinates, at his business. He's…_ " Alex hesitated, before deciding to just go with it, " _Max is part of the Science Guild, and so are the people here._ "

Kara immediately became frightened, " _They're not Family?_ " She edged away from Allison, who pouted. Alex scooped her up, placing her on her lap.

" _Don't worry, little one, it's okay. They're here to help me with something. Do you want to go play with your new toys?_ " Kara nodded, reaching up to wrap her hands in Alex's hair. Alex winced, bringing one hand up to stop her before standing, looking to Max. "I'm just going to go set her up with some things to play with while we're in here. She's feeling a bit shy."

Max nodded, what worry he had on his face disappearing before he came forward, tapping Kara's forehead. "You be good, kiddo." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, making Alex feel a little uncomfortable before she walked to Kara's room, placing the toddler on the ground. She got toys out for her to play with, and once Kara was quietly involved in figuring out how they all worked, she left, shutting the door behind her to go back to the crew waiting for her.

"So how does this work?" She questioned once she was back by Max, only for a man with…quite a lot of hair on his head to motion her over.

"Here, come, sit." He motioned to a stool, which had been set up over a sheet of plastic. Alex glanced at Max, who motioned her forwards. Allison piped up as she sat down.

"Not too much now, Bart."

The man glared at her, "The solution has been perfected. Now we only attempt to reduce the cost of production." He snapped, before motioning to one of the others. The following ten minutes were the weirdest of her life.

"Growing out _hair?_ " She questioned once Allison started getting set up, pulling over a trolley of hair-dressing materials, the others having already left. Max, who was smirking at her waist-length hair, shrugged.

"People pay not to be bald. Simple yet effective. Now _I_ am going to check on our daughter, to make sure she hasn't hurt herself, and hopefully get her to call me _Diom_." He smirked wider at her glare.

"Fuck you, Max."

"You already did that." He winked, before walking off. Alex snorted. _He wishes._

"So, pretty kid you got there – she only speak that language of yours?" Allison questioned. Alex made sure not to shrug, as she'd already started cutting.

"Yes."

"So, no English?"

"No," Alex said shortly, wishing there was a mirror like in a normal hair-dressers. "What are you going to do with my hair?" She hadn't had her hair so long in years, not since Hank, J'onn, first picked her up, and even then it was shorter than this. She'd forgotten how heavy it all was.

"Oh, not much. Trim, a few layers, a side fringe too, I think. I'd highlight bits maybe, if I had more time, but your hair is such a lovely colour anyway. So _deep_ – it's a wonder your daughter came out blonde."

"My mother was blonde, and the rest of her side of the family too."

"Oh that explains it then," Allison stopped speaking after that, just kept on cutting. When she was done, she didn't waste any time in packing up and leaving with a quick "Ciao, babe!" to Max as he came out with Kara, who stared at her before half-running, half-toddling over, Alex picking her up.

"Hey baby."

" _Mama, your hair's back to normal!_ " She giggled, before grabbing at it. Alex winced as she wrapped both of her arms in it all.

"Max, a little help here-"

"Coming, coming," Max muttered, before taking Kara from her leaving her to untangle her little arms from her longer locks, staring at her. "You look good."

"Thanks, I've not had a chance to look in the mirror yet." She paused to slow her breathing. "I'm going to head off in a minute – I need to get home, get a shower and change of clothes."

"Yeah, you do that," Max was still staring at her. "Know when you'll be back?"

"Not a clue, but I'll beg off at noon if I can. Lucy Lane's the new Director of the DEO. I think that, once I run this all past her, she'll get where I'm coming from. Will you be here?"

"Maybe not," Max shook his head, "You text me when you can get out, and I'll tell you our whereabouts."

"Fine," Alex walked past him back to her room, picking up her last belongings and tugging on her shoes before coming back out, coming close to hug Kara tightly and kiss her forehead. " _I've got to go, little one. I'll be back later, I promise. Be a good girl for Max?_ "

Kara's eyes widened, " _Don't go, Mama, please._ " Alex grimaced before glancing at Max, whose face was less than a foot away from her due to her close proximity to Kara.

"Keep her safe? Teach her some English, maybe, learn a bit of Kryptonese?"

Max smiled fleetingly, "I'll try. Go to work." Alex nodded, before giving one last kiss to Kara before stepping back, the little calling out to her, frantic.

" _Mama, Mama!_ "

Alex forced herself not to look back.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy blinked, “Wait, _what?_ ”

Alex sighed, “I know, it’s a bit much, but we can’t exactly keep her in the DEO.”

Lucy shook her head, “No, I’m fine with that – it’s clever, even. I’m just a bit shocked you’re letting him say _you’re_ her mother. You could still say she was your foster-sister – it’s not that uncommon in this day and age for older couples to take on a young child. You could even say that Kara is her own child – she’s not worked at CatCo long enough for timing to be an issue.”

Alex disagreed, “Kara worked at Wayne Enterprises before that. It’s on record – anyone could get pictures. They wouldn’t believe it, and anyway, we’ve already started the act.”

Lucy sent her a small smile, “At least it isn’t all bad. You got a picture of her yet?”

“No, but I’ll ask Max – it would be a bit weird if I didn’t have pictures of her on my phone, if she really was my kid.” Alex took out her cell, texting Max. He replied with a couple of snaps of them both eating ice-cream in a play-park. Alex’s eyes narrowed. “He took her out for ice-cream. She’s not allowed ice-cream before dinner.”

“Woah, calm down there, mama-bear,” Lucy joked, before coming closer to see, “Aw, she’s adorable! I _have_ to meet her before she goes back to normal.”

“I’ll bring her to my apartment tomorrow or something, you can see her then.” She texted to Max. **_Where are you?_**

He replied about ten seconds later. **_The park near the penthouse. It’s beside the beach._** He sent another picture, from the opposite angle, showing a white sandy beach that Alex knew was only about a half-mile from the harbour.

 ** _I’m coming_**. She replied, before saving the pictures to her phone and tucking it away. “You mind me going to look after her.”

“No, go, really – I’ll say you’re undercover on a protective detail, officially. Text me the details about tomorrow?”

Alex gave her a quick smile, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Sure.” She glanced at Susan, who had been subtly glancing over at them. “Vasquez, wanna come too?” Susan looked at her properly, smiling.

“Sure, Alex.”

“I’ll text you,” she nodded, before waving to them both, leaving quickly. The drive to the beach only took twenty minutes, and when she arrived to find Max pushing Kara on the swings, all traces of ice-cream were gone – Max had done good to assure there weren’t any signs of it on Kara’s shirt either, like there had been in the pictures, to her amusement.

When Kara saw Alex, she squealed, “ _Mama!_ _Max got me_ iced cream!”

“Ice-cream,” Alex corrected as Max slowed the chair to a stop, taking her out. She kicked in the air for a second, before reaching for Alex, who took her gratefully and grinned, rubbing their noses together. “ _Has Max been able to teach you any more of his language?_ **”**

Kara nodded, “Yes! English! Ice-cream! No! You! Me! One! Two! _I know so many words, and sentences too!_ ”

Alex gave her a fond look, “ _Yes, you know so much. Did Max teach you anything else? What sentences do you know?_ ”

Kara pointed at her, little finger on her clavicle. “You are my Mama,” she twisted in her arms to point at Max. “You are my Daddy.” Max looked smug at her speech, but Alex just stared. She knew that Kryptonian children were geniuses in comparison to Earth children, but she didn’t expect Kara to learn English so fast. Kara pointed to herself. “My name is Kara. Your name is Alex.” She pointed at Max again. “Your name is Max. Max is my Daddy, Alex is my Mama.” She looked so proud of herself that Alex couldn’t bring herself to burst her little bubble. _I’m not your mama, Kara._

“ _Well done, little one._ ” Alex kissed her forehead, shifting her to her hip before looking to Max. “You shouldn’t have given her ice-cream.”

“She’s already had her lunch – it was a treat, and she was hungry.” Max pouted, before coming around to stand close to her. Alex went to step back, but he took her spare hand and smiled. “On my four o’clock, someone is taking pictures. Smile like I just said something amusing.” Alex did, letting out a fake chuckle before putting Kara on her other hip, hiding her face from view of the photographer, who she had thought was capturing pictures of the tall palm tree he was standing behind.

“Do we lose them?”

“Nah,” Max shook his head, “We figure out who he works for. It’s not Olsen, or any of Cat’s people. I keep an inventory of her staff.”

“A smaller company?” She let out a wince as Kara started playing with her hair, putting up her spare hand to stop her as she listened to Max.

Max gave her a flat smile. “I was thinking more Daily Planet. With Supergirl’s disappearance, it wouldn’t be odd to send cameras to National City for a potential shot of some alien that brought her down – or, better yet, me, with my daughter and mystery partner.” Alex grimaced. “Oh, by the way, if anyone asks, your name is Alexandra Lewis, and Kara is called Karoline Lord.”

“Lord?” Alex raised an eyebrow, “Really? Why not my last name? I’m her mother, after all.”

Max leaned over to press a kiss to Kara’s head, “Because for all intents and purposes, we’re back together and Kara takes my name because of it?” He waggled his eyebrows. “You do want to draw attention away from Kara, yes? The best way to do that is to make everyone wonder who you are, rather than her, or her picture will be across every newspaper and shiny new magazine in town.”

Alex glared at him, “What do you want out of this Max? Because despite all of this, I can still file for harassment – officially, I’m Kara’s protective detail.”

Max grinned, “Even better. If people find out, you can say I paid you to pretend to be her mother. Now,” he stepped that little bit closer, arm wrapping around her waist. Alex leant back a little, struggling to compensate Kara’s weight while also staying as far away from Max as she could without falling. “Why don’t we give them a show, eh?”

Alex glared as hard as she could, before finally taking Kara’s hands out of her hair. The girl immediately made a noise of discontent.

“ _Do you want to go and play?_ ” Alex asked in an irritable voice, Kara nodding, not seeming to register or at least not be bothered by her tone. Dropping her down to the ground carefully, Alex watched as she ran over the black rubber, practically flying up the rope-net into the pirate ship-shaped climbing frame. Looking back up at Max, she forced a smile onto her face. “I’m going to kill you, you know that, right?” Max only smirked before she leant up, pressing her lips to his. Max didn’t take long to turn the simple press of lips into a full-blown kiss. Alex kept her eyes shut as the taste of ice-cream invaded her mouth, her arms wrapping around his neck. _This is for Kara. You’re doing this to keep Kara safe._

When they finally parted for air, Alex swallowed before searching out Kara, who was going down the slide, laughing. When she was down, she looked over to Alex.

“ _They don’t have this on my planet!_ ” Alex was immediately reminded of that day on the beach, where Kara stared at the birds. “ _We didn’t have birds on my planet”_. Kara giggled again before going back to one of the ways to get up onto the ship, looking away from her.

Max made a noise of satisfaction. “The photographer’s leaving. He’s got all the shots he needs. We’ll find out who he works for tomorrow, when it’s the headline. Come on – let’s sit down on one of the benches.” He took her hand, leading her over to a free bench. It was almost domestic, how his arm wrapped around her shoulders as they watched the blonde play. “I started looking into how I could administer the anti-Red K after you left.”

“And?”

“Nothing comes to mind right now, but I figured a capsule, one that disintegrates in contact with blood. Or something she could inhale – but I don’t think she’d inhale enough of it in one go for it to work right.”

“You’ll figure it out,” Alex assured.

“I hope so, or we’ll be pretending to be a couple for a very long time. Nothing particularly _wrong_ with that, but with Supergirl not around we might have to start relying on other aliens who are a bit more loyal to Metropolis than National City.” Alex glanced at him, looking away from Kara for a moment, eyebrow rising.

“Is that your way of saying you actually want to date me in real life?”

“Well…we’ve already kissed, and I’ve wined and dined you multiple times – we’re also babysitting your sister together,” he pointed out, before looking to her. “Aren’t those things a couple does together?”

Alex looked away, “Maybe. But I’m only here for Kara, and you won’t let her go. If anything, we’re two exes having a custody battle, while trying not to inform everyone watching that we’re exes.”

“Interesting answer. Kara calls us her mom and dad – how does that make you feel, Alex?”

“How does it make _you_ feel, Max?” She countered, not expecting him to answer.

“Strange,” he said after a beat, “I don’t have kids, didn’t want them…”

“Didn’t? What changed your mind?” Max gave her a raised eyebrow.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Alex glanced at Kara again, watching as she climbed through a tunnel with plastic windows. “Did you ever want kids?”

“No. I never wanted this kind of life.” She tucked her hair behind her ear again. It was annoying, how it kept falling onto her face – she needed to invest in hair bands. “I was like any other girl, when I was younger, obsessed with boys – also obsessed with girls,” she added, “and as you have already shown to know, I partied a lot at college. I figured if I ever had a kid, I’d give it up – I’m not a mother. I never thought I’d get married, either.”

Max curled his arm tighter around her shoulders, leaning over to her slightly, with their faces barely a foot apart. He seemed to want to say something, but when he did open his mouth to speak, a small voice interrupted them.

“Mama, Daddy,” they looked to Kara, Alex leaning over to pick her up as she rubbed her eyes, “ _Mama, I’m tired._ ”

“She’s tired,” Alex translated. “Nap-time for the little one, I think.” Getting up off the bench, she slung Kara onto her back, the girl’s arms wrapping around her neck as Alex made her way to where she’d parked her car. “I’ll meet you at the penthouse,” she said to Max, belatedly, as he followed her over.

“You don’t have a car-seat.”

“And you do?” She questioned. Max gave a short smile before going over to where his chauffeur waited, slipping into the limo and returning a minute later with a simple grey car-seat. He buckled it into the chair perpendicular to the driver’s seat. “Thank-you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied pleasantly, before taking Kara from her back and buckling her in as Alex got into her seat, turning the car on. “Go to sleep, super-baby,” he murmured to Kara as she started to nod off, then shut her door and came around to Alex’s window, handing her a ring with three keys, pointing out a golden one. “Here. It’ll get you into the complex parking. This one unlocks the garage door. There’s an entrance to the left of where we were both dropped off last night. Park your car in there then use this key,” he showed her a smaller silver one, “for the elevator.”

She took the keys, “Thanks. What about the third one?” He gave a bland smile.

“You’ll have to find that out yourself.” She scrutinised it.

“It’s a car-key…” she flipped it around, eyebrow rising. “I’m not car-savvy, but even I know that’s a Porsche logo. It literally says it right there.” Max winked.

“Take it for a run whenever you like. I like girls driving my cars.”

Alex rolled her eyes, “See you in a bit.” Rolling up her window, she waited until he had stepped back before putting the car into gear, reversing out of the car-park.

* * *

“You were right to make me get her snacks,” Max noted lightly as he watched Kara finish the last of her eighth packet of Hobnobs. “I’m surprised her metabolism hasn’t made her a rake while working for Cat.”

“She has a secret drawer,” Alex drawled, not opening her eyes from where she laid on the sofa, wincing as Kara shifted a bit on her stomach. “Winn and James make sure it’s always full for her, especially on the days where she sneaks out to do something Super.”

“Huh…” Max looked away finally, going back to playing about with the designs on his tablet for an anti-RK capsule. “What would happen if it wore off on its own, after a long period of time? I mean, the Green Kryptonite effects don’t last long…”

“It’s difficult to say,” Alex replied, “Green Kryptonite is only effective when she’s in a certain proximity. I wouldn’t know about Red Kryptonite, because you weren’t exactly helpful when you didn’t hand it over that first time.”

“ _That_ is not my fault,” he glanced over, “It was my invention, and the government has no right to take it from me. And anyway, Supergirl knew what she was getting into every time she snuck into my office.”

“Doesn’t make it right that you have a weapon that could potentially cause Supergirl to wipe out the planet – her cousin wouldn’t be able to stop her. She’s faster than him, and while he’s got the experience, he’s never had someone to train him in combat.”

“That’s why I have something called an _antidote_. It lets me _cure_ Supergirl-”

“Who’s Supergirl?” Kara suddenly chirped. Alex opened her eyes, looking at her sister with raised eyebrows.

“How much English can you speak, Kara?”

“More than before,” she pointed at the TV, which had some children’s show on it. “I am watching the screen. It has lots of different…” she wrinkled her nose, looking to Alex, “ _I don’t know the words._ **”**

 **“** Channels? Programs?” Max offered, guessing what she might be trying to say.

“No,” Kara’s brow furrowed, before she went back to watching. Alex glanced at Max.

“Genius child. Soon we won’t be able to have conversations around her.” Max grinned at the prospect. Alex looked away, gazing at Kara as she continued to watch what looked to be f.r.i.e.n.d.s. “Who do you like the best, Kara?”

“Joey,” she replied, eyes glued to the screen. “ _How do you say ‘funny’ in English, Mama?_ ”

“Funny.”

“Friends is funny. I like it. Daddy?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” Max raised an eyebrow.

“ _I’m hungry –_ food. Please?” She glanced around at him, prompting him to nod.

“Sure, super-baby.”

“I’m not a baby,” she glared, and Alex’s heart skipped a beat as they faintly glowed red. _Oh no, no. Of all the powers that could develop…_ She shared a look with Max, who had obviously caught sight of it too.

“Kryptonite?” He murmured, and Alex nodded.

“I’ll ask the DEO to send some around. You’d better get her some food.”

Max nodded, turning, “Right.” While he went to the kitchen, Alex went over to where Kara was sitting, crouching down beside her

“Kara?”

“Yes Mama?”

Alex glanced at the ground in guilt, wishing she had a hair-tie. _I’m not your Mama, Kara_. “When you get angry, I want you to close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re special, baby-girl, and that special can hurt other people. So you’ve got to- Kara, look at me, Kara,” she clicked her fingers in front of her eyes, where they were glued to the television. “I will turn it off, Kara.”

“No.”

“Kara, look at me, please, or I will turn the television off.”

“Don’t.”

“You have three seconds. One…two…three.” Alex took the remote from in front of her, pressing the off button. The screen blanked, and Kara whined.

“No! I want to find out what happened! Turn it back on!”

“I told you to look at me, Kara, because it was important. You need to do as I say, because I care about you and I wouldn’t if it weren’t very, very important.” Kara looked to her, chin wobbling. “Hey, don’t cry.” She reached a hand out, cupping her chin. “C’mon, little one.”

“Why d-do I have to sh-shut my eyes when I-I’m angry?” The girl was trying not to cry, and it broke Alex’s heart a little.

“Because your eyes have special powers that you can’t control yet,” she explained softly, “You are so, so special, Kara, and you tell me or Max right away if anything happens – if everything starts getting too loud, or you find yourself floating off the ground, or you break something you shouldn’t be able to break. _Anything_ , Kara, you tell me or Max, and if you get angry, you shut your eyes and hug yourself. Promise?”

“Pwomise,” she sniffled, before Alex smiled, picking her up and pulling her into her arms.

“You’re such a brave girl, little one,” she kissed the top of her head, before Max cleared his throat, “and apparently hungry. Look,” she motioned to Max, who smiled and waved a hand towards a plate full of sandwiches filled with salad, and she assumed some kind of meat.

“Daddy got food for me,” Kara sniffed again, before wiping her eyes and reaching for him. Alex instead moved towards him.

“Dining table, please – you’ve made enough mess in the living room as it is.” Max nodded, before putting the plate of sandwiches down on the wooden top, Alex setting Kara down on her booster-seat, that was strapped to one of the chairs. Then Max’s phone rang.

“Excuse me.” Alex nodded, and then Max walked into the kitchen for some privacy.

* * *

Once in the kitchen, he put the phone to his ear, “Cat.”

“ _Max. I have two questions for you. One: when did you become a father? And two: have you the capabilities to track down an employee of mine who the government has ‘need’ of?_ ” Max shut his eyes. He’d completely forgotten about CatCo – he assumed the DEO had come calling. “ _Well?_ ”

“I’ll assume your missing employee is called Kara Danvers, aka your former assistant, before you promoted her to Junior Editor. The government do actually need her though – I even helped out a little, met her even, nice girl – so I can’t help with that part.”

“ _How annoying. And your supposed daughter?_ ”

“An old girlfriend of mine, from a few years ago. She hid it from me, I recently found out, and now we’re back together both because we want to try again, and because I want to be in my daughter’s life – who is also, coincidentally, named Kara as well. Well, Karoline, but her mom calls her Kara, so, Kara it is.”

“ _I want to meet her._ ”

“I’ve known about her for what, ten days? I’d have to convince her mother, and she’s very against tabloids getting pictures of her. You are a journalist, and head of a media empire-”

“ _Then, as your friend, I would ask if I could meet her. We’ve known each other a long time, Max, and…Carter would probably like to meet her, would insist on it if he knew what we did._ ”

Max’s grip tightened on the phone, eyes slipping shut for a moment, before he gave in. “Are you busy tonight?”

“ _No, but I’m not busy this afternoon, either, and young children need earlier bedtimes than adults. Bring her to CatCo – use my elevator, if you wish. I’ll even clear the floor if you’re that against her being seen._ ”

“Nice gesture, but it’s fine – just make sure no-one takes pictures.”

“ _Of course. I’ll see you later, Max._ ”

“See you later, Cat.” She hung up, and Max cursed into empty air. “Why did I agree to that?”

Alex was going to kill him.


End file.
